


Fortune Favors the Bold

by saltseawitch



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Beau is emotional, F/F, Fjord is a bro, Friends to Lovers, Jester is oblivious, Slow Burn, Useless Lesbians, and Molly is Molly, and Yahsa is a homie, tarot reading
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-05 02:40:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21206090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltseawitch/pseuds/saltseawitch
Summary: When Jester gets her fortune told at a Campus Pride Center carnival fundraiser she is excited to learn she will soon be in a relationship with her true love. All she knows is it is someone she has already met, so she sets to writing a list and intends to work through it until she finds "the one". Meanwhile Beau is struggling with her feelings for Jester, her roommate and straight best friend. Will Jester realize that the person she's looking for is in the room across the hall, will Beau be honest with herself and Jester about her feelings, will I finish writing this? Only time will tell.Planned 10 chapter fic. Catch me on Tumblr @ saltseawitch.





	1. The Fool - Jester

Fortune Favors the Bold

_The Fool- On the Fool Tarot card, a young man stands on the edge of a cliff, without a care in the world, as he sets out on a new adventure. He is gazing upwards toward the sky (and the Universe) and is seemingly unaware that he is about to skip off a precipice into the unknown. Over his shoulder rests a modest knapsack containing everything he needs – which isn’t much (let’s say he’s a minimalist). The white rose in his left hand represents his purity and innocence. And at his feet is a small white dog, representing loyalty and protection, that encourages him to charge forward and learn the lessons he came to learn. The mountains behind the Fool symbolizes the challenges yet to come. They are forever present, but the Fool doesn’t care about them right now; he’s more focused on starting his expedition._

The wind was blowing softly down the tree lined street, kicking up the leaves in the gutters beside them. Jester made a note to paint the foliage when she got home later. Their colors contrasted nicely with the overcast gray sky and she thought that the color palate would make a lovely abstract piece. She was glad that she wore her leather jacket to class, and shivered as she looked over at Beau clad in a thin flannel and a sleeveless t-shirt. Fjord on the other hand looked almost too warm in his thick black peacoat, and far too stuffy for the Pride Center’s Fall Carnival fundraiser.

Fjord had been trying to get Beau and Jester to attend a Pride Center meeting all semester, ever since he had moved in with his new roommate Caduceus. Caduceus, or Cad for short, was an asexual, panromanic, bright pink firbolg and it was he who had gotten Fjord to open up about his bisexuality. Their friendship had a profound mark on Fjord who was becoming more and more comfortable with his sexuality with each Pride Center meeting and event.

Between Jester’s apprenticeship at the tattoo shop, Beau’s gym instructor job, and all of their school work neither had the time to attend a meeting so far. But that afternoon Fjord had cornered the two at their favorite café after their final midterm of the semester. With no schoolwork to do they couldn’t refuse his request to attend the Fall Carnival and meet his friends.

Jester was excited, she loved socializing and making new friends. Judging by how Fjord had instantly become friends with her and Beau at their Wildmount Sovereign University Zadash orientation event the year prior, she knew he had good taste in people. She was also excited to show Fjord how much she supported his sexuality and his involvement in the Pride Center; she thought she would make an excellent ally.

As they drew nearer to the entrance of the carnival Fjord’s demeanor shifted slightly. Jester could tell that he was nervous to see how his two friend groups would interact with each other. A small part of her thought he was right to be worried. Beau was not the best at making first impressions, and the tiefling knew she could be a bit much to take in initially. Fjord greeted the woman at the ticket table, a half-elf who he introduced as Caliana. Jester and Beau say hello, albeit Beau a little gruffly, and Fjord purchased their entrance tickets as well as a handful of ride and attraction tickets a piece.

Entering the carnival Jester was immediately welcomed by the scent of freshly popped kettle corn on the air. The campus square was transformed, tents with red and white stripes littered the perimeter of the lawn. In the center of the quad there were numerous stalls and stands selling food and crafts. Jester spotted a stall selling apples, green, glossy candy red, and deep golden caramel dipped, her stomach growled appreciatively.

“It’s freezing.” Beau complained.

“Well whose fault is it that you never wear sleeves?” Fjord teased.

“Whose fault is it that I didn’t have time to go home and grab a coat?” Beau snarked back.

Sensing an argument brewing Jester interjected, “Do you want to borrow my jacket Beau? Tieflings don’t feel the cold as much as you squishy humans do you know.”

“Don’t call me squishy.” Beau said, pulling up her flannel sleeve and flexing her arms to show off her obvious muscles.

With a look from Fjord she added, “But thank you Jes, I’m fine though. I think I’m going to go grab a hot cider to warm up.”

“I’ve got to go meet Cad, I think his stand is somewhere by the food booths. He’ll know where the others are stationed.” Fjord said.

Jester knew that Fjord’s roommate made artisanal teas that he sold at craft fairs and farmers markets. The rest of Fjord’s new friends must be working the other booths and rides around the carnival.

They made plans to meet up in a half hour by the merry-go-round and went their separate ways. Jester was wondering which way to go first. The food stalls were tempting with their sweet and savory aromas and brightly colored signs, but she wasn’t hungry yet. She didn’t want to go on any rides without Beau and Fjord, the metal structures looked rickety and she wanted her friends there to reassure her they were safe. She was about to go into the shopping area when a vibrant tent caught her eye.

The circular tent frame was draped in a red and silver tapestry with a giant dragon swirling around the perimeter. In front of the tent stood a chalk board with a well-drawn crystal ball in the center, framed by the words “Fortune Teller”. Beneath the header the sign told her that a tarot reading would cost two tickets. Deciding on the spot that a fortune would be well worth missing out on a ride later Jester marched through the tent flap to the interior.

A purple tiefling was sitting at a small round table in the center of the tent intently shuffling a well-worn deck of tall cards. On a braizer behind the table a large quantity of incense cones sat burning, giving the tent a hazy aura. On another, smaller table, a grouping of candles was burning dully. They gave off the only light in the space, the effect was heady, exciting Jester.

The tiefling didn’t look up at first, focusing on the repetitive shuffling of the deck, until Jester cleared her throat. The fortune teller gave a startled little jump, as if they had been oblivious to Jester’s entrance, though she didn’t quite buy it. Maybe they did it for a dramatic effect.

“Well hello there darling, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” said the purple person.

“What do you mean?” Jester asked, she was fairly certain that she had never met this person before, there weren’t a lot of tieflings at WSUZ.

“Just that you’re the first person to be brave enough to enter my tent this afternoon,” they reply.

“Really?” Jester asked surprised.

“Really. I think people are afraid to know what their future holds,” they said, adopting a mystic tone.

“Well I’m not,” Jester held out two tickets and said, “One fortune please!”

“Alright dear, sit down here across from me,” they said, gesturing to the only other chair in the tent.

Jester sat and through the haze she got a better look at the fortune teller. They had blood red eyes, a curly shag of hair just darker than their skin tone, and peeking out of their collar she could just make out the head of a beautiful tattooed peacock.

“Ooh, I love your tattoo! I’m a tattoo apprentice! Where did you get that done? I don’t recognize the style from any of the artists here in Zadash,” she said rather quickly as the fortune teller returned to shuffling the cards.

“The peacock? I got it done on the road while I was backpacking in Xhorhas. The artist did it out of the back of a van somewhere near Asarius. Where is your apprenticeship at?” they asked in a regular tone.

“I’m working under Orley at The Mistake. It’s been six months and he’s taught me a lot so far. I’ve just started working on people,” Jester said.

“You’ll have to show me some of your work later. Cut the deck,” they said, placing the deck in the center of the table for Jester to cut.

She did and the fortune teller picked the deck back up and began to lay the cards out on the table. The first card was placed on the left side of the table, then the second on the right. The third through fifth cards were placed down from top to bottom in a line through the center of the table between the first two.

Jester was silent, which was rare for her. She held her breath in anticipation as the inked tiefling flipped over the first card. It held an image of a man standing at the edge of a cliff. His billowing shirt sleeves fanned out behind him as he was poised to take a step forward. He had a rucksack thrown over his right shoulder, and his left hand held a single white rose. On the cliff beside him was a pure white dog. Jester was thinking that the dog was an odd touch when the fortune teller spoke.

Their mystic voice was back as they said, “The fool, upright, this card symbolizes your role in a relationship. The fool symbolizes unlimited potential. You see how he is on the cliffs edge, that means you hover on the precipice of a great new beginning. You may not know where you are going, but you are being called to follow your heart. Now is a time to trust that the universe will provide should you be brave enough to seek something out.”

“And the dog?” Jester asked.

“The dog represents loyalty and protection, giving you the strength you need to take that leap of faith,” they said, not missing a beat.

They flipped over the card on the far right. On it sat a woman in front of a veil decorated with what Jester thought were pomegranates. They were definitely red and some kind of fruit, but in the dim light she thought they could also be apples. Beside the woman stood two pillars, one black, one white, with the letters B and J on them respectively. She wore a blue robe and some kind of crown.

“The high priestess, also upright. This means intuition, sacred knowledge. As she is in the second position, she represents your partners role.”

“Partner?” Jester interrupted, “What partner?”

“Your romantic partner, this is a five-card cross relationship spread. Did I not specify? These readings are meant to tell you where your romantic life is going,” they said.

Jester was quiet at the comment. She had just wanted her fortune to be told, but she had never stopped to consider before entering the tent which part of her future would be illuminated.

“Your partner must be wise, this is the card of enlightenment and secret knowledge. It also represents the Divine Feminine, regardless of gender this person is in touch with their intuition, empathy, and compassion.”

They flipped over the topmost card to reveal a full moon. The moon was positioned high between two towers. In the foreground what looked like two hounds sat howling at the moon, one looked scruffier than the other.

“Once again, your card is in the upright position, this time it is the moon. The third card represents your past foundation, what brought you together. Weird…” they trailed off.

“What’s weird?” Jester asked, a nervous pitch in her voice.

“The moon represents fear and illusions. It often comes at a time of uncertainty, when nothing is as it seems,” they tell her. “have you met anyone in a scary situation recently?”

Jester thought back on the past few months, she couldn’t recall anything scary happening since the start of the semester. Searching back further than that she supposed that the scariest thing to happen to her was the whole affair with Lord Sharpe that led to her attending university so far from home. Her first few days in Zadash had been terrifying, even with Blud accompanying her to move in day. Once he left, she was on her own until she met Beau and Fjord at orientation. Those days had been the scariest, but she couldn’t have met someone then. She had stayed in her dorm room almost the whole time, only leaving to shower and pick up her takeout in the lobby.

“I don’t think so. I can’t think of any scary situations that I’ve been in recently.”

“Hmm, well that cards can have many meanings, let’s move on. The fourth card represents the current state of your relationship,” they said as they flipped the center card over.

On the card sat another woman, dressed in a red robe she sat in front of a purple veil once again between two pillars. She held a sword in her right hand and a set of scales in her left. Jester thought that she looked a lot like the high priestess, although the color schemes didn’t match.

The fortune teller spoke again, “Justice in the upright position. This card highlights your current relationship with this person. You have a good solid foundation of trust. This is a good card for commitment, it means you are close to being in a relationship with them.”

Jester was fully invested now, she sat on the edge of her seat, head hovering inches above the cards. If this fortune teller was right, that meant she was close to something she had waited her whole life for. She could vividly recall the ache she felt when reading her mother’s romance novels when she was alone in the chateau. She had wanted love for as long as she could remember, and this next card could tell her who her true love was.

The inked teifling’s hands played with the edge of the card, drawing out the moment of the big reveal for a fraction of a second, piquing Jester’s curiosity. A purple hand turned the final card over revealing a naked man and woman standing beneath an angel. Jester didn’t need the clarification that they gave her to know that this card represented lovers.

“In the fifth spot the lovers represent your looming future. In its upright form this indicates conscious connection and a meaningful relationship. You’re going to have a beautiful, soul deep connection with this person. My my dear, you’ve had quite the positive reading,” they concluded.

Jester was dumbstruck, looming true love, a soul deep connection. It was like all of her wishes and wildest dreams were confirmed to be coming true.

“Thank the traveler. This was so amazing! Thank you… what is your name?” Jester asked, realizing that they had never exchanged names.

“Mollymauk, or Molly to friends. And your name would be?”

“Oh, I’m Jester!” she replied.

“Well miss Jester, I’m happy you’re pleased with the reading. Now, tell me more about your tattoo apprenticeship, do you have any pictures of your work? I’m looking to get a new piece and apprentices do discounted rates, right?” they asked.

“Actually, we work for free, or well like not for free, we pay for the supplies out of pocket. But we get to keep the tips and stuff,” she said as she pulled out her phone and began to show Molly some of her work.

The bright light of her phone screen was jarring in the dark tent. She and Molly looked through her photo gallery. They eyed her work appraisingly, commenting that she did good work for someone so new to the trade. That got them onto the topic of Jester’s major, Studio art. And Molly’s double major, Literature with Women and Gender Studies, and a minor in photography. Sensing that this could be a potential art friend Jester asked Molly for their number, and the two made plans to meet up at a café after break to spitball some tattoo ideas.

Leaving the tent and stepping out into the cool fall air breathed new life into Jester. She was thrumming with energy and couldn’t wait to tell Beau and Fjord about her reading. Walking towards the merry-go-round she checked the time on her phone. It was 4 pm, meaning that she had been in the fortune tent with Molly for almost an hour talking and getting her cards read. It felt like such a short time, she hoped that Fjord and Beau wouldn’t be upset with her. Beau spotted Jester first, walking quickly through the crowd of people waiting in line for the ride.

“Jes, there you are! Are you okay? Fjord was just about to send out a search party for you,” Beau said, playing up Fjord’s worry as a way of making her own fears seem nonchalant.

“I’m fine, I just got caught up in the fortune teller’s tent. Beau I had my cards read and guess what!” she said as they walked towards where Fjord was waiting.

“You’re going to become rich and famous by winning the lottery?” Beau guessed.

“No, but that would be so cool. They told me that I’m going to start a relationship with my true love soon!” she practically shouted the second sentence, and people nearby turned their heads as the two girls passed.

“Calm down dude, people are going to stare,” Beau said looking around, “That’s pretty chill, any idea who your prince charming is?”

“It’s supposed to be someone I’ve already met. We’re going to have a soul deep connection Beau. Isn’t that amazing and wonderful and stuff?” she does nothing to curb the enthusiasm in her voice.

They reached Fjord who smiled with relief seeing that Beau had found Jester. She wasted no time telling him about her tarot reading and her potential romance. He did his best to sound interested while he steered her towards the sideshow area where his friends were working.

Fjord introduced Beau and Jester to a lanky ginger human lounging outside the tent on a break from his fire juggling act. His name was Caleb and Fjord told them that he was the first person Cad introduced him to at the Pride Center. He was a bit of an awkward conversationalist but he did manage to tell them that he was a grad student studying Library Science and Physics of Magic. Jester learned that he had a cat named Frumpkin, and that his best friend and roommate Nott was inside the sideshow tent working as a mime.

They said their goodbyes to Caleb and told him to enjoy his break before entering the tent. Inside they saw the strangest assortment of students performing, including a mime wearing what Beau called “a horrifying nightmare” of a porcelain doll mask. Fjord waved at her and she waved back before pretending to be blown away by a non-existent gust of wind. A nearby group of freshmen laugh, and sensing a captive audience the mime began to entertain them with her bit. Jester assumed this was Nott, and was internally happy that she didn’t have time to talk to her. She’s sure that Nott is a good person, but Beau was right the mask was super creepy.

Beau noticed someone nearby in a long flowing dress and had to stifle a laugh. It was her ex fuck buddy, Keg. Jester was never too sure of the nature of their relationship. She had grown out her beard and was obviously supposed to be a bearded lady. Though Jester thought that as a dwarf, the concept of why that should be a sideshow attraction is a bit lost.

The trio hung out inside the sideshow tent for a few more minutes, waiting to speak with Nott who showed no signs of slowing down her act anytime soon. They finally decided to leave when Beau saw a startlingly tall, buff, and pale woman begin lifting a set of heavy weights.

“I’m too gay for this shit,” she said before exiting the tent.

Jester laughed at what her friend would call “useless lesbian” antics and followed her out of the sideshow tent.

“Where to next?” Beau asked the group.

“Well there are shops and rides and a bunch of other attractions. I think there’s a hall of mirrors somewhere,” Fjord said.

“Fuck that, those things are so creepy,” Beau vetoed.

“Let’s go shopping, I want to see Caduceus’ teas!” Jester said, deciding for the lot as she walked away into the crowd. As she lost herself in some retail therapy; buying tea and home-made perfume, pastries, and a flower crown from a woman with an actual halo, she forgot to spare a thought for her future romance.

That evening she and Beau returned home full to bursting with funnel cake, corn dogs, and with teeth still sticking from a shared caramel apple. As Beau set the kettle to boil so they could try one of Cad’s teas Jester ran to her room to grab her laptop. She sat at the kitchen table and searched through her school bag for some scratch paper as Beau poured her a cup. Beau mentioned getting to bed soon in order to teach an early morning kickboxing class as she sat the cup down in front of Jester. The tiefling mumbled something in acknowledgement as she searched the internet for tarot card meanings.

Beau found her the next morning, slumped over and drooling onto a stack of notes with a dead laptop in front of her. She managed to rouse the blue girl enough to get her properly into bed before heading off to work. As Jester drifted back off to sleep, she made a mental note to ask Beau to help her with her new plan when she got back from the gym.


	2. The Fool - Beau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau goes to the gym and meets Yasha. Then, when she returns home she is bombarded by Jester's new hunt for her soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 11.5.19

Beau's not going to lie, the Cobalt Soul Kickboxing Gym smelled. The place was musty from the years of sweat that had seeped into the mat flooring and hardwood boards. Regardless of how it stank, Beau considered the place to be her home away from home. Gods know she was there often enough to consider it so.

She was grateful to the owner Dairon, who had taken her in after her year of homeless backpacking, when her parents quit paying for her school and board. Thoreau Lionett had essentially given up on Beau after she decided to switch her major from Pre-Law to History and Sociology. This act of rebellion and disappointment was considered the final straw by her family and they immediately pulled Beau out of WSU-Kamordah. Which was fine with Beau, she didn't need them anyway. It had been three years, she hadn't heard from them once, and that had not had any negative effect on her life as far as Beau was concerned.

She backpacked around the country for a year before settling in Zadash when Dairon had more or less rescued Beau from a bar fight gone wrong. They fought off her assailants and took her home to get cleaned up. After a somewhat awkward evening in which Beau drunkenly opened up a bit more than she usually would about her past, she crashed on Dairon's couch. Then, in the morning, they offered Beau a chance to get into fighting shape by giving her a job at their gym. One year later Beau had saved up enough cash to enroll at WSUZ where she met Jester and Fjord, and the rest was history.

The gym was unlocked by the time she arrived and found parking on the busy street downtown. While the students may be on break, the rest of the city was in the middle of a work week. She wasn't surprised that the place was open, Diaron often came in early to meditate and catch up on paperwork.

Shouting a quick hello to the office Beau removed her boots and went to her employee locker to retrieve her training shoes. After lacing them up tight she stepped out onto the black and blue mat floor and began doing some warm up stretches. Dairon told her the other day that this morning's lesson was with some chick named Yasha. Apparently, she had been training one on one with Zeenoth twice a week for the past week in the evenings.

Beau didn't work nights, that’s when she'd scheduled most of her classes, so she hadn't seen this Yasha girl around the gym yet. She assumed that the new woman was some kind of divorcee looking to get fit so she could reenter the dating scene with some self-confidence. They got that sort in a lot, they usually scheduled evening sessions, and they lasted maybe a month or two before they'd decide kickboxing was too hard and quit. She was surprised therefore, when the pale girl from the pride carnival sideshow entered the gym and began to peel off her boots. 

At this close of a distance Beau's assumptions from the night before were proven correct. This Yasha chick was HOT. She was only wearing black sweats and a gray tank top, but Gods could she wear it well. Beau knew she wasn't just there to get fit, her biceps were jacked, and even though the sweats were baggy Beau could tell that she didn't skip leg days.

Both panicked and excited that she would be teaching this beautiful woman how to kickbox, Beau began to do what she did best in situations like this, show off. She slowed down her stretching, and exaggerated each pose so her muscles were displayed to their full effect. Yasha however was unconcerned. Every time Beau snuck a peek to see if Yasha was paying attention she saw the woman tying her shoes, and putting her things in one of the student lockers.

Beau had given up on the dramatic stretching by the time Yasha stepped out onto the mat. The taller woman walked cautiously up to Beau but didn't introduce herself. Beau decided to bite the bullet and broke the silence.

"Sup, it's Yasha right?"

"Yes. Hello, you must be Beauregard." she said in a softer tone of voice than Beau had expected.

"Just Beau is fine. You're Fjord's friend, right?" Beau asked.

When Yasha gave her a puzzled look and didn't reply Beau continued.

"You know, from the Campus Pride Center. The half-orc dude, salt and pepper hair." Beau described.

"Oh yes," a look of realization crossed her face, "He's more Caduceus' friend than mine. Though we have talked a few times. Is he your friend?"

"Yeah, we're bros." Beau said.

"Does he work out here too?"

"Nah, he usually works out at the campus rec center. Kickboxing isn't really his thing." Beau said, thinking back on the few times Fjord had tried to accompany her to a kickboxing class. He had been miserable, punching it turned out, wasn't Fjords forte. Neither was kicking, after nearly breaking a toe kicking one of the heavy bags, he had called it quits and went back to swimming at the campus pool to stay fit.

"But it's yours?" Yasha asked.

"Huh, mine?" Beau said confused, she had been lost in thought and the question threw her for a loop.

"Your thing I mean…" she trailed off awkwardly before trying to clarify, "Kickboxing."

"Yeah it is." Beau said with a grin, trying to brush past the awkward moment. "And I'm a kickass teacher, you're gonna learn tons today."

"Okay." Yasha said softly, "Where do we begin?"

Beau started them off with a bit of stretching, making sure to work the triceps and hamstrings before starting Yasha on learning a proper fighting stance. Zeenoth was a great teacher when it came to large classes, but Beau was better with the one on one sessions. She quickly corrected Yasha's stance, and was able to explain the importance of balance to the taller girl in a way that Zeenoth had been unable to do.

Once they had gotten Yasha's stance down Beau began explaining her method of teaching.

"I like to start with the boxing element. Punches and stuff. Then you move onto the kicking," she said, then demonstrated with a solid kick to a nearby hanging heavy bag.

"Finally, you put the two together and, voilà…" she said and again demonstrated with a series of kicks and punches across the mat floor, "you get kickboxing."

"Impressive," Yasha said once Beau had finished showing off.

"Yup," Beau said, trying to play it cool in the face of Yasha' compliment, "So we're going to start with two of the most useful punches in boxing or kickboxing. The first is the jab."

Beau started to explain, “You’re going to start with your dominant hand. Now, from your chin you’re going to extend your hand and drill, palm facing downwards.”

Yasha emulated the technique as Beau described it, punching the air. Her first few punches were a little wonky but nothing that Beau hadn’t expected. No one was perfect on their first try, Gods know Beau had been a disaster in her first few lessons with Dairon.

Beau began to move around Yasha, adjusting her posture here and there and helping her with the trajectory of her punch. 

“Don’t forget to protect your chin with your non-dominant hand.” Beau advised as Yasha began to work on a set of jabs against one of the standing dummies on the floor.

After working on jabs, Beau had Yasha move on to cross punches. As their lesson was winding to a close, she had Yasha work on throwing the punches she had learned at a dummy. Beau had quickly picked up a few things about Yasha. One, she often forgot what to do with her other hand when punching, and two, she had very little rhythm. Beau tried to get her to throw her hips into each punch to give them more power but the taller woman just couldn’t get the hang of it. Beau made a not to work on that in the future, provided she scheduled more lessons with her.

When their 90-minutes was up they headed off the floor towards the lockers to collect their things. Because their earlier conversation hadn't gone too badly, and their lesson had been fun and productive, Beau decided to attempt to make friendly conversation again.

"So, what do you normally do to work out?" Beau asked.

"I lift weights." Yasha replied simply.

"Like you did at the carnival, I kind of thought those weights were fake."

"No, they were real. I am very strong." Yasha phrased the sentence as a solid fact not a brag.

"I could tell," Beau said thinking about the force behind Yasha's punches on the dummy, "but, kickboxing isn't just about being strong. You've got to be agile too, it's a finesse sport."

"I came here because I thought it would be a good outlet for some of my recent aggression. I didn't think it would be so detail oriented."

Wondering what could cause the quiet, somewhat shy girl, to have pent up aggression Beau replied, "Yeah, people usually think it's about mindless violence, but there's a lot of skill that goes into it." 

"I'm beginning to see that." Yasha said as she began pulled her boots from the locker.

"Will I be seeing you again for lessons?" Beau asked, silently hoping that the answer would be yes.

Yasha took a moment to answer, lacing up her boots, "I think so, don’t tell him, but I like you much better than Zeenoth."

Internally beaming at the compliment, Beau made a note to brag to Zeenoth later about her superior teaching skills.

"Well I usually teach mornings. My WSUZ classes are all scheduled for afternoons and evenings. If that works for you, we can set something up," Beau said, pulling on her own shoes.

Together they walked up to the counter where Beau pulled out a class calendar. They worked out two mornings a week where Beau could fit Yasha in between the aasimar's classes. Figuring that they wouldn't see each other over the week's fall break they shook hands and said goodbye at the gym's entrance before going their separate ways towards their cars.

Beau unlocked her gray four door, threw her gym bag in the back, and got into the driver's seat. Turning the key, the engine revved to life. As the car warmed up Beau picked up a few bits of trash that had littered the passenger seat, no doubt left behind by Jester. She frequently asked Beau and Fjord for rides, not being able to drive herself. Jester got banned from public transportation every few months in various disguises for vandalism and general hoodwinks. When she was trying to lie low, she relied on her friends for rides.

Picking up a napkin Beau saw a doodle on the paper, it was a cartoonish sketch of herself. The doodle Beau was driving, a speech bubble above her head showed she was cursing, presumably at another driver on the road. Beau thought it was cute that Jester had taken the time to capture a moment of Beau's road rage and wondered when the tiefling had drawn it.

Putting the car in drive Beau made the short trip home to the apartment she shared with Jester. Luckily their building reserved one parking space per unit so Beau didn't have to look for parking on the busy street. She got out of the car, slightly chilled by the crisp fall air in her basketball shorts and trademark sleeveless t-shirt. Passing by the dumpster she threw away Jesters trash, and paused to slip the doodled-on napkin into her pocket.

Entering the house, she fully expected Jester to be asleep still, so she was quiet as she deposited her bag in her room and slipped into the shower. When she was finished and dressed, she towel-dried her hair and made her way into the kitchen to work on breakfast.

She began to fry up some bacon, toasted some bread, and grabbed the butter and jelly from the fridge. Beau was just flipping the bacon over when Jester bounded into the room, her laptop and a stack of notes in her arms. Her hair was sleep ruffled, and the usual ribbons she tied to her horns were crumpled from not taking them out the night before. Her black silk pajamas accented the smudges of yesterday’s makeup.

"Morning Jessie." Beau said as she watched the pan hoping not to get a grease burn as she flipped the bacon.

"Good morning Beau!" Jester said in her usual chipper voice.

"You had a late night." Beau stated.

"Yeah, I stayed up all night researching my tarot reading. Molly helped me out a bit when I forgot some of the cards." Jester said.

"Who's Molly? She cute?" Beau asked grabbing the toast from the toaster.

"Molly is the fortune teller. And they are very handsome but I don't think they're your type." Jester replied as she sat down at their kitchen table.

"You made friends with the fortune teller?" Beau laughed, "Only you Jes." Beau said with a fondness in her voice. She was always amazed at the ease with which Jester made friends.

"Yes, they're going to be my next customer, we were talking about doing a sun and moon tattoo."

"That’s cool," Beau said, plating up their breakfast and setting it on the table before Jester, "Breakfast is served."

"Thank you, Beau," Jester said digging in, all that research had worked up her appetite.

"No problem Jes." Beau said through a mouthful of bacon.

They ate in silence for a minute, buttering their toast and occasionally grabbing more bacon from the pan. That was one of the things Beau liked about Jester, she had a healthy appetite and wasn't afraid to scarf down a hearty meal. They had that in common. But where Beau usually worked off her carbs and protein, Jester was more sedentary and had curves that Beau found very attractive. You know, in a strictly best friends’ kind of way.

"Okay so Beau," said Jester breaking the silence, and grabbing Beau's attention, "I've made a list."

"A list?"

"Of all my potential future lovers." Jester said exasperated, as if Beau should have known instantly what she meant.

"Okay…" Beau said, waiting for more.

"So, first there's Marius. We met when he came in for a consultation at The Mistake. I gave him my number and we've been talking a bit about his tattoo idea. He's a bit pretentious but maybe he has hidden depths." Jester said, as if this were a romance novel and this guy Marius was a misunderstood heartthrob.

Beau snorted.

"Don't laugh Beau! I'm supposed to have met this person in a scary situation, and he was my first consultation. I didn't want to mess up."

"Okay I'm sorry, continue." Beau said.

"Then there's Desmond Moondrop." Jester said his name in a dreamy way.

"What kind of last name is Moondrop?" Beau asked, trying very hard to suppress the urge to laugh.

"It's his stage name, we met in a theater class last year. We were improv partners, and Beau we were so funny together." Jester said, as if that meant they completed each other.

"Why was that scary?"

"I'd never performed before in front of people. Well other than the Traveler. I wanted to be as impressive as my momma. I was nervous and he was nice to me, he made me feel better." Jester said.

Beau was struck by how Jester tended to put faith in people the second they were nice to her. She couldn't complain though, it was that quality in Jester that had made her befriend Beau instantly. And Beau would always appreciate that, she had never had a real friend before. Let alone a best friend like Jester.

"Who's next?" Beau asked.

"Do you remember Bryce? They were in my intro to calculus class last year."

"You took calc?" Beau said surprised, she didn't think that Jester's major required math.

"I had to, it's a general ed. requirement. Anyways, I had them around to a few of our study dates remember."

"Yeah, they were kind of quiet, seemed pretty nice though." Beau said remembering the blonde.

"Exactly, they are very sweet and my future partner is supposed to be in touch with their emotions and junk." Jester said as if this settled the matter.

"Is that all?"

"No there's James Tybalt." Jester said consulting her list. 

"Fjord's friend?" Beau asked, remembering the gruff man and trying to picture him with Jester.

"Yes, he was Avantika's friend first," Jester said with the disdainful voice she adopted whenever she talked about Fjord's toxic ex.

"Why's he so special?" Beau asked.

"We’ve talked at a few parties, and he's always respected my decision not to drink and when we’ve talked and he's always been nice and stuff. I thought maybe he could be the one maybe." Jester said, somewhat softly, waiting for Beau to tease her.

"Okay, is that your whole list?"

"Yes, he's the last one. I considered adding Orley but he's a bit too old for me I think." Jester said matter-of-factly, making Beau laugh.

By then they had finished with breakfast and Jester set to cleaning the plates and pans, saving the bacon grease for cooking with later. The deal was that whoever cooked didn't have to clean, but more often than not Beau ended up helping anyway. Standing from the kitchen table Beau grabbed their dishcloth and began to dry the dishes as Jester handed them to her clean.

Beau thought about what Jester had said, examining how much faith her friend was putting in this tarot reading. Beau thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but she wasn't about to tell Jester that. When the tiefling set her mind to something it was difficult to get her to change her course. It had been that way last year when Jester has spontaneously decided that she was going to be a tattoo artist. Fjord had tried to talk her out of it, citing the cost of an apprenticeship and how little money she would be making in the beginning. That seemed to have stiffened Jester's resolve however, and within a week she had an apprenticeship set up with Orley who she had managed to charm in minutes.

She decided that it would be best to let Jester have this tarot thing, to let her run out of steam on her own. Beau was determined to be a good friend to the blue girl, even if that meant listening to her talk about boys. When the last plate was dried and put away the duo moved to the living room. Beau put on some music, an album that they both liked, while Jester grabbed her laptop and opened a blank word doc.

"So, I've decided to make another list." Jester said, sitting on the floor in front of their coffee table.

"What of this time?" Beau asked settling on the couch behind Jester. 

"The requirements I'm looking for in a man, so I will know which one is the one, you know." She said, titling the document _Jester's List of Lovely Qualities in Her Future Love. _

"So where are you going to start?" Beau asked, reading the title over Jester's shoulder she smiled.

"Well," Jester paused, thinking seriously, "In the stories the man usually sweeps the woman off her feet by doing some grand romantic gesture like sacrificing himself. So, the first should be that he's willing to make sacrifices for the relationship."

"You know that's not how it works in real life right? Both partners usually make sacrifices, it's more of a compromise than anything." Beau said knowledgeably.

"Okay, then it will be ‘willing to compromise with me’." Jester said, typing that up, "He will have to be caring and honest too."

"Those are good qualities." Beau agreed.

"He will have to love my friends and family. That’s a deal breaker, if he doesn't respect you or Fjord or Momma then he will have to go."

Beau felt a warmth in her chest when she considered that Jester though her important enough to be included in the list.

"He will respect me too, obviously. And, he will have to support my dreams of becoming a famous artist. And the Traveler will have to approve." Jester went on as the music continued to play softly in the background.

Beau sat by patiently as Jester brainstormed. The album had finished by the time they were done with the list. It had 10 items in total ranging from being patient with Jester, to putting in the effort to really get to know her. Beau thought she was asking for quite a bit, considering that Beau mainly looked for two things in potential suitors. One, that the girl was hot, and two, that she wouldn't get too attached. Beau didn't do relationships.

Still something about writing this list with jester had her feeling conflicted. She didn't want to think too hard about why the idea of helping Jester fall in love with some guy had her twisted up inside so she challenged Jester to a Mario-Kart battle. The tiefling was game and the two spent the rest of the afternoon goofing around playing games in the living room. It wasn't until the blue girl yawned loudly and said that she needed a nap to catch up on her beauty sleep that they stopped playing.

With Jester asleep Beau became bored. She couldn’t stop thinking about this tarot thing and how caught up in it Jester seemed to be. Which was fine, whatever, Beau didn't care if Jester wanted to find a boyfriend. She was just concerned that her friend was getting her hopes up, that was it.

If she was being honest it was in some way her fault that Jester was on this new path that could lead to a serious letdown. If she hadn't left her at the carnival, she probably wouldn't have gone to see this Molly fortune teller person. Then she wouldn't be in a position where she could get hurt.

The overthinking made Beau feel kind of shitty so she grabbed her gym bag and decided to go back to The Cobalt Soul. Exercise was a sure-fire way to get her mind off of the negatives, and it had been a while since she had gone there just to work out without having to teach.

The drive back to the gym went by slowly, a monotonous blur of evening traffic. Soon enough however she had parked down the street from the gym and headed inside. It wasn't too packed for a Friday evening. There was one class going on in the front room so Beau bypassed the heavy bags and headed into the back weights room.

Once again, she was surprised to see Yasha at the gym. The taller woman was reposed on a weight bench, clearly having just finished a rep. Aside from her the weight room was empty so Beau decided to approach and ask if Yasha wanted to spot her.

"Sup. Back already?" she said, startling the other woman who had not heard her approach.

"Hello Beau, I did not expect to see you again today." she said with a small smile. Beau thought that was a good sign, Yasha was pleased to see her.

"I could say the same for you." Beau said looking at the weights she had just been benching, they were heavier than anything Beau could lift and she was impressed again by Yasha's strength.

"The owner, Dairon, said I could come by and use the weights in my free time." she said, sitting up properly so she could talk to Beau. "I thought you did not work evenings."

"I'm not here for work, just wanted to get some strength training in." Beau replied. "Do you want to work out together?"

"That would be nice, I could use a spotter." she smiled again at Beau.

Beau didn't know how good of a spotter she would be when it seemed like Yasha could bench more than her entire body weight. Not wanting to seem like a weakling or miss out on socializing with this pale goddess Beau took her spot at the head of the bench.

Yasha laid back down and began to bench press the weights. She was silent and Beau taking her lead remained quiet too. They worked out together like that, in relative silence. For a few reps the only sound was labored breathing and the clinking of the metal weights.

"Are you okay? You seem kind of tense." Yasha asked Beau as she extended her arms, pushing the weights as far as she could.

"I could ask you that miss 'working through some recent aggression'." Beau snapped. She didn't like it when people she hardly knew asked her about her feelings. Honestly, she didn't really like the people she knew well to ask her about her feelings either, Jester and Fjord were the exceptions.

Yasha was silent, but clearly upset by the way Beau had snapped at her.

"Shit, I'm sorry. That was rude, it isn't any of my business." Beau apologized.

"It is okay. What you said is not untrue. I am sorry for trying to push you to talk."

"You're fine. I'm just stressed because I think I got a friend into a bad situation." Beau confessed, opening up to the taller woman a bit.

Beau finished her reps and stood, allowing Yasha to take her place on the bench.

"What kind of bad situation?" she asked.

"At the carnival," Beau began, watching the way Yasha lifted her weights with ease, "I ditched her to go get a cider and she wandered into this stupid fortune teller's tent. Now she's all hung up on her tarot reading. She thinks she's going to hook up with her true love soon. And I just don't want her getting hurt. Ya know?"

"I think it is noble of you to not want your friend’s feelings to be hurt." Yasha said. Beau flushed at the compliment, happy that Yasha was more focused on her workout than Beau's reaction.

"Are you talking about Jester?" Yasha asked.

"Yeah! How did you know that?" Beau asked surprised.

"Molly was talking about her today." Yasha said, finishing up her set and sitting up.

"The fortune teller? You're friends?" Beau asked, not moving to take her spot on the bench.

"Yes, they are my best friend. We live together." 

"And they've talked about Jester." Beau said, as she bent over to pick up her water bottle and took a sip.

"Oh yes, they are quite intrigued by her. Usually people do not put so much stock in their readings." Yasha said, followed Beau's lead in taking a break and grabbed her own water bottle.

"They also want to get a new tattoo done by her. They are very impressed with her work." she continued.

"Yeah Jessie's pretty impressive." Beau said. Then before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "So most people think the whole card reading thing is BS?"

"Some people do, others are like Jester and they put their faith in Molly's ability to read the signs the universe is giving out." she said.

"Do you believe?" Beau asked, genuinely curious about what Yasha's answer was.

"Not really, Molly's read my cards a few times…" She trailed off for a moment before she continued with, "But I do not think that they were accurate."

"So ,they're just getting Jester's hopes up? They've set her up to fail." Beau said angrily.

"I do not know. Sometimes I think that when people believe, and put in the effort to make something come true, it could be real." Yasha said calmly, not bothered by the anger in Beau's voice.

"Real because they've made it happen?" 

"Exactly." she said simply.

After that they went back to working out. Switching to the medicine ball, they tossed it between themselves as they did crunches. Yasha had given Beau a lot to think about. Were the cards bullshit, or did Jester's determination to find her boyfriend, soul mate, whatever, mean that this Molly person was right.

Beau started to feel the endorphin fueled burn that came with a good training session. So, she focused on being in the moment with Yasha, and all thoughts of Jester's love life were put on the back burner. For the time being.


End file.
